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Parents Are Talking Their Kids Into Being Overweight

In the last 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in
children and quadrupled in adolescence, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. In 2012, more
than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for cardiovascular
disease, prediabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and potential social
and psychological problems. Left untreated, these complications can continue
into adulthood.

Of course, the CDC recommends healthy lifestyle choices—healthy eating, physical exercise—but they also point out another important way to keep kids healthy: Providing a safe and supportive environment where healthy lifestyle choices can be made.

What kids don't need? Labels and pressure around weight and weight gain. In fact, too much focus on excess weight tends to lead toward more excessive weight gain.

A new data analysis of two studies found that children whose
parents considered them to be “overweight” tended to gain more weight over 10
years than children whose parents considered them “normal weight.” The findings,
published in Psychological Science, indicate
that children whose parents label them as “overweight” had a negative
self-perception about their bodies and engaged in more attempts to lose weight—which actually contributed to weight gain over the 10-year period.

The clear message from this study is that dieting is more
likely to lead to weight gain, not weight loss, in both children and adults.

Psychology researchers Eric Robinson and Angelina Sutin
argue that the stigma of being labeled overweight as a child might actually
play a role in future weight gain.

Robinson and Sutin analyzed the data from a longitudinal
study of Australian children. For the study, children’s height and weight were
measured at age 4 or 5, and parents were asked to describe whether they thought
the children were best described as underweight, normal weight, overweight or
very overweight. When the children were 12 or 13, they used images to best
depict what they perceived their bodies to look like and were asked whether or
not they engaged in any dieting behavior. Height and weight measurements were
taken again when the children were 14 or 15 years old.

Results indicated that parent perception played a role in
weight gain later on. Children whose parents considered them overweight at age
4 or 5 gained more weight by age 14 or 15.

Considering that many experts warn parents to avoid talking
about weight in front of the kids, these results come as no surprise.

It’s worth noting that the perception of a child’s weight
and future weight gain had nothing to do with the child’s actual weight at the
beginning of the study.

Stunning.

“The clear message from this study is that dieting is more
likely to lead to weight gain, not weight loss, in both children and adults,”
explains Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN behavioral health expert and author of Body
Kindness. “Even if you have weight concerns for your kids, bring it
back to health,” she said. "Shift your focus to positive habits
that benefit everyone in the family, like cooking and eating together and
making fitness more fun.”

Robinson and Sutin analyzed the data from a second study of
over 5,000 Irish families participating in the Growing Up in Ireland Study, and
found a similar pattern of results. While the data doesn’t definitively
determine that parent perception about weight causes the weight gain, it does
indicate that parental perceptions can have a negative impact on the child’s
health.

Considering that many experts warn parents to avoid talking
about weight in front of the kids, these results come as no surprise. “Don’t
forget to check your own weight bias,” she advised. “If your child
hears you saying something negative about a larger bodied child or adult, they
might get the message that ‘fat is bad’, and those beliefs don’t motivate
positive lifestyle changes.”